July 28, 2016 at
7:00 AM

7/28 Cup of Coffee: It was a positive Wednesday for the affiliates, as Pawtucket, the GCL squad, and both DSL teams were victorious. The Sea Dogs were defeated by the Thunder, and the Salem Sox lost a close contest.

Behind the strength of their pitching, the PawSox won their third in a row. Robby Scott improved to 4-3, allowing just three hits across five scoreless innings while striking out two. Roman Mendez added three innings of relief, allowing a hit and a walk while punching out three. Heath Hembree collected his third save, notching a scoreless ninth inning. The PawSox did all of their damage offensively in the fourth. Chris Marrero (pictured, above right with cousin Deven Marrero)laced a two-run double, and Jantzen Witte added an RBI double of his own. Rusney Castillo and Marco Hernandez each had two hits for Pawtucket.-----

The Sea Dogs faltered late as they dropped the rubber game of their series against the Thunder. Teddy Stankiewicz pitched five innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks in a no decision. Ty Buttrey fell to 0-9, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits in two innings of relief. The Sea Dogs got on the board first, plating a run in the first inning on a Ryan Court RBI single. After the Thunder scored five in the top of the third, Portland retaliated with five of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Andrew Benintendi knocked in two with an RBI double, Nate Freiman and Jake Romanski both connected for RBI doubles, and Court laced another RBI single. Court was 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI, leading the Sea Dogs offense.

Despite outhitting the Nationals, 7-4, the Red Sox dropped a close decision. Daniel McGrath hurled eight strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits. The game remained scoreless until the fifth, when the Nationals finally got to McGrath and brought home two. In the top of sixth, the Red Sox cut the lead in half on a Jose Sermo sacrifice fly. The Red Sox had a chance in the ninth with runners on first and second, but squandered the opportunity by hitting into a double play.

Denyi Reyes picked up his first win of 2016; he pitched five scoreless innings and allowed two hits while striking out two. Junior Espinoza picked up the save, tossing four scoreless innings of relief. He allowed two hits and struck out four. Santiago Espinal made his professional debut, going 0 for 3 in the win. The lone run of the game came in the fourth on an Alberto Schmidt RBI double.

Red Sox pitching allowed just four hits in collecting their third straight win. Alejandro Rodriguez received the start, allowing a hit and three walks while striking out four in three innings. Carlos Cortes allowed a hit and a walk in his three innings of relief to pick up the win. With the game scoreless in the third, the Red Sox brought home three on a force out and a Willis Figueroa two-run triple. The Red Sox would score single runs in the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings on a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly, and a wild pitch, respectively. Eddy Reynoso, Marino Campana, and Figueroa each had two hits in the victory.

In a game with just three combined hits, the Red Sox came through late. Jose Gonzalez was dazzling in a no decision, allowing one unearned run and striking out five in six innings of work. Joan Martinez picked up the victory, hurling three scoreless innings of relief. Down, 1-0, in the eighth, the Red Sox took the lead on a Rafael Rincones two-run double.

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Player of the Night: Chris Marrero gets the honor after his key two-run double helped lift Pawtucket to a 3-0 victory over Rochester. Marrero has had a banner first year in the Red Sox organization, hitting .286/.340/.511 with 19 home runs, 51 RBI, and 24 doubles in 97 games. Photo Credit: Chris Marrero by Kelly O'Connor